LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Havenstein and Tyler Higbee are the only two players who have been on Sean McVay's roster throughout the coach's nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
While Higbee remains an important part of the Rams' offense heading into the third NFC championship game
of this McVay era on Sunday, Havenstein took the first step Thursday toward potentially finishing his injury-plagued season on the field as well.Havenstein rejoined his teammates
in practice for the first time since he went down in mid-November, creating the possibility for the longtime starter to return from injured reserve this season. After spending most of the past two months watching from the sideline during practice, Havenstein was back on the field at their training complex in Woodland Hills.
“It was a long road,” Havenstein said. “I had some challenging times, but that’s what this game is. ... I’m focused on what I can do each day back. Haven’t played football in a while in a real capacity, so I’m doing what I can do each day to kind of build, and we’ll see where the chips fall.”
Havenstein is the longest-tenured member of the Rams' current roster and he has been a stalwart starter at right tackle when healthy since his rookie season in St. Louis in 2015. He has started 148 games over 11 seasons for the Rams along with 13 playoff starts, including two Super Bowls.
But injuries have limited Havenstein to 18 games over the past two seasons. He has played in just seven games this season, last appearing in the Rams' 21-19 victory over Seattle at SoFi Stadium in Week 11 before being sidelined by an ankle injury and knee bursitis.
Warren McClendon Jr. has generally played well since replacing Havenstein in the starting lineup this season, although he had a few glaring mistakes in the Rams’ 20-17 overtime victory at Chicago last Sunday in the divisional round. But Havenstein makes it clear he never gave up on playing again this season.
“Whatever it is, you want to do it for your family,” Havenstein said. “I’ve got my 7-year-old (who's) going to ask me why I’m not out there right now, so it’s understanding that, and trying to be the man and the father that I want to be. You’ve got to be about it instead of just talking about it. Staying engaged, staying ready to go, doing what I can, conditioning, extra lifts, extra rehabs, just trying to get back to feeling as good as I can.”
The Rams (14-5) visit the Seahawks (16-3) on Sunday for the NFC title game, hoping to earn a third conference championship for Havenstein and Higbee. McVay led the Rams to the Super Bowl in the 2018 season and the 2021 season — but Higbee only played in one of those games after getting hurt in the NFC title game against San Francisco four years ago.
“Rob and Tyler, these are rare humans,” McVay said Thursday. "They're great football players, but they're great leaders, and they have such respect from the locker room. ... You look at the wisdom that Rob has in the meeting room to pour into Warren and really our offensive line as a whole. These are two all-time guys. These are legacy Rams. Obviously they're special to me."
Higbee and Havenstein frequently hold court in their corner of the Rams' locker room, teasing and roasting their younger teammates. Havenstein also takes his role seriously as a leader and mentor, even when he's not healthy enough to play.
“When I was a young guy, I had a lot of guys impart a lot of wisdom on me, so it would be selfish me not to kind of give back what I was taught,” Havenstein said. “If I can help out in a 1% way, then I’ve been doing my job, and that’s what the ‘C’ on my chest still means.”
LB Byron Young missed his second straight day of practice to rest the knee injury that has bothered him periodically throughout the season, but McVay expects the Rams' sacks leader to play Sunday.
Anybody expecting the Rams to talk trash about the Seahawks will be waiting for a long time.
When talkative linebacker Jared Verse took the podium and fielded a question about the Rams' hunger for a payback victory in this rematch, he glanced pointedly at a Rams' public relations staffer and said: “I was told not to give bulletin board material.”
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